Welcome to The Christian Basketball Youth Association (CBYA) website!

Caring is about being nice to other people. Sometimes other children may act differently from us. They may not act like everyone else. We need to learn that sometimes people have problems that make them act differently. When they do, we need to be nice to them. We need to be their friends. Even when you play basketball, you may not all play the same way. Some might be strong at one thing and not be so strong on another thing. We need to be patient and fair with each other!

Being a good citizen means to be the best that you can be. To be kind and help people in need. Participating and doing your best in your family, at school, on the playground, at basketball or anything that brings positive results makes you a good citizen. Respecting other people and their freedom is important to remember. Even though we are different, we can all work together. It is important to make good choices, be the best that we can be, and get along with others.

To lie is to pretend to tell the truth when we know that what we are saying isn’t the truth. It’s just as easy to tell the truth as it is to tell a lie. If you tell the truth, you feel good inside, and you don’t have to worry about anyone finding out you told a lie. Remember, no one likes to be lied to; lies will get you in trouble. Telling lies is that once you tell a lie, other people don’t believe you sometimes when we are telling the truth.

It’s important to remember that we all have a hard time learning to do something new. We may feel like giving up, but we shouldn’t give up. We may need someone to show us how to do something several times. If we really want to learn something and keep on trying without giving up, we can do it. Some good points to remember when things get tough are: Never Give Up, Keep on Trying, Ask for Help, Practice Even Harder, Winners Never Quit, Quitters Never Win, If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again!

The friends we choose are important to us. When we have friends, we feel a sense of acceptance by others. To have a friend means to be a friend. Good friendships do not always come easily. Be yourself. Keep confidences. If somebody tells you something, don’t spread it around. Be reliable. Let your friends know they can count on you. Accept your friends for who they are. Don’t try to make them into what you expect them to be. Be a good listener. People need to be able to share themselves, and express it by talking. Be honest. Share your feelings. Learn to say “I’m sorry” and feel good about it. Don’t put your friend in a situation they don’t want to be in.

It’s hard for us to imagine what an effect the loss of our personal freedoms would have on us. We realize that not everyone has to agree with us. However, we still have the freedom to speak freely and write our feelings. With freedom comes decision making (what to write or say), responsibility (to be aware of and respect others’ rights), and accepting consequences (the outcome of what we do). We must accept positive and negative reactions to our spoken and written words even when we don’t like them. Many around the world don’t have such freedom. Some cannot even move from one house to another without the permission of their government. We should be thankful for the freedom we have and respect it by being responsible when we express ourselves. It is important to be aware and respect other people’s rights and feelings in everything we do.

A Habit is a way of acting or doing, what has become fixed by being repeated often in our lives. Sometimes, we like to pretend we are someone else and to act like that other person. When we choose someone, we want to be like or act like, we want to make sure that this person has good or healthy habits. Smoking is a bad habit. We don’t want to imitate someone who smokes. Cheating is a bad habit, and we don’t want to act like a person who cheats. Unhealthy habits get us in trouble and we don’t feel good about ourselves. Healthy habits make us feel good about ourselves like telling the truth, being kind to others, eating healthy and exercising. When we set a good example, others want to be just like us.

A person who is a good student or teammate listens to instructions. When we don’t listen carefully to instructions, we might do something wrong. We learn by listening. Listening is hard work. By listening well, we are responsible! We can feel good about ourselves, and others feel good about us. To be a good responsible person takes hard work. We must practice our listening skills each day and follow instructions. We can be responsible by doing our school work, showing up to practice and doing our best.

Respecting each other with our differences is very important. We may not look exactly the same, or have the same hair, eye, or skin color, but there are many things that are alike about each of us. All of us have to eat. All people have feelings. And, we all experience different emotions like; happiness, sadness, fear, wonder, and peace. What is on the outside is not nearly as important as what is on the inside. Until we get to know what is inside, we do not know the person. Always keep in mind that each one of you is a special person. You have something special to offer the world. Each of us has a responsibility to make our surroundings, and this world a better place to live.